02/03/2026
The summer I turned introverted…
Looking at our highlight reel from December through to February, you’d never guess, but truthfully, this summer challenged me. Our first Christmas without my Dad hit harder than I’d prepared myself for and what is normally my favourite time of the year no longer held all the magic. At night I cried myself to sleep, while through the days I desperately tried tugging at the tiny threads of joy intertwined with sorrow.
Celebrating felt wrong. Socialising was exhausting. And I found myself turning inward. Taking solace in quiet moments and the company of my family - and friends that feel like family. I started reaching for my Kindle again and let myself be carried away to fictional worlds in the pages of my book.
Somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Nick bought a second hand rooftop camper on a whim and converted the troopy into a sleeping space and we booked an impromptu camping trip down south to Crescent and Scotts Head. It was the trip I didn’t know I needed. It was where I felt my sparkle return. Day by day the tightness in my chest softened and I started to feel more myself again.
It was the summer I sailed on the MV Jasmine, celebrated Ari graduating primary school, relished in family time, caught up with best friends, fell in love with reading again, met new friends after rescuing them from being bogged, tried every cold foam coffee within a 50km radius, let my birthday just come and go without any fanfare (at my request), and surfed for days on end. The summer I learned to sit still, strip everything back and just be.